This invention relates to an Emergency Signaling Device (ESD) which is worn by individuals at risk of falling, becoming unconscious or of becoming lost and which alerts bystanders that the individual wearing the ESD is in some such distress. More particularly, the ESD of the present invention is comprised of means for sensing that the wearer has sustained a shock and fallen, or has become lost, and an alarm and/or other means of communicating or relating messages for alerting bystanders. The device of the present invention does not require any action on the part of one wearing the device to activate the alerting function.
Numerous situations exist in which it would be advantageous to draw the attention of bystanders to an individual in need of medical assistance. For instance, there are many medical conditions, such as epilepsy, diabetes, narcolepsy, and cardiac and circulatory deficiencies, which put an individual at risk of a convulsive or non-convulsive seizure or which may cause an individual to loose his or her consciousness or balance. Yet other medical conditions, such as Alzheimer""s, may cause an individual to wander off and become lost.
When such events occur, bystanders often do not pay attention to such a fallen, dazed, unsteady or lost individual, thinking that it is a case of inebriation or drug abuse. Frequently, the individual having this problem is unable to communicate his distress or the cause of his problem or to effectively solicit the assistance of bystanders.
Personal alarm devices which are currently available have deficiencies which are met by the device of the present invention. For example, the personal alarm disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,368 is used primarily for defensive purposes but must be activated by the person in distress. Therefore, an individual who has lost consciousness, motor control or who do not realize they are in distress (such as a wandering Alzheimer""s patient) cannot or do not activate the alarm of the device claimed in the ""368 patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,204 discloses an electronic medical warning device which activates an alarm, following a delay period, upon the closing of an attitude switch. The device of ""204 patent, however, could undesirably activate. For example, should the wearer of the ""204 device lie down for a period greater than the delay period, the alarm would activate.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a device which would sound some sort of audible alarm or signal when the wearer sustains a shock in conjunction with a change in attitude. It would be advantageous for such audible alarm or signal to include a voice message alerting bystanders to the wearer""s condition or medical problem. It would be further advantageous to have a device which may be automatically activated at pre-set time intervals or upon the exit of the device from a specified location. It would be further advantageous to have such a device which could also be manually activated by an individual in distress, if such individual were physically and mentally capable of activating the device.
The present invention addresses the deficiency of prior art personal alarm devices by providing a device which automatically activates the alarm function upon the occurrence of certain events, such as a change in attitude in conjunction with sustaining a shock, upon the exit of the device from a specified area or upon activation by either the wearer or a third party.
In a particular embodiment of the present invention, the ESD contains a means for detecting attitude and shock and which more specifically detects whether the individual wearing the ESD is in an upright or prone position. In the event the individual wearing the alarm looses consciousness or otherwise falls, the device would activate an audible alarm which would draw the attention of bystanders to the individual in distress.
In the event the individual falls to the ground and sustains a shock, greater than that normally imposed by walking, the device would activate an audible alarm which would alert bystanders but may also play a voice message indicating the wearer""s medical conditions.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the ESD contains an alarm which is activated if the ESD is transported beyond a pre-set distance from a base station. Such an embodiment would be most useful with cognitively impaired, such as Alzheimer""s patients, who may wander and become lost. Such a device would sound an audible alarm and/or voice message requesting assistance and identifying the caretakers of the patient upon activation. In another embodiment of particular use, the ESD may contain an alarm which is time-dependent and which is set to sound at certain pre-set intervals or times.